Eric Reece
I was always taught it could take a new minister a good 10 years before they earned people’s trust. That is a long time in the life of a minister, when the average church stay is 3-7 years.
In any profession, you can work hard to build trust and are always trying to earn it. Without trust, it is hard to get cooperation and accomplish much of anything.
Gallup came out with a news poll on trust in our country. Surprising to me, trust in the church is on the rise! A whole 36% of the population say they trust the church. For the past three years, confidence in the church has reached record lows. In 2022, Americas’ trust in the church fell to 32%. A 4% increase in confidence is heading the church in the right direction.
There is no reason given, but I hope it is because the church is being the church and helping lead people to Christ and caring for the needs of the community. I know churches taking responsibility for the years of covering up abuses has helped. I pray we have all learned from this nightmare and continue to support the victims.
In Gallup’s survey, only three institutions have the trust of the majority of Americans. They are small businesses (70%), the military (62%) and science (61%). Trust in many of our institutions have fallen and remain low.
One night I was called to an emergency where a young father had died. When I arrived, another minister was present. There was a lot of pain and grief. When the cry of “why” started, he recited Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” This was a difficult time and I appreciated him reminding us all to trust God.
Rabbi Bar Kappara, a 3rd-century sage said the whole faith hinges on these verses: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3: 5-6). In his wisdom, he chose a Bible verse about trusting God.
You may have read “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy were Christians who were sent to a concentration camp because they helped hide Jews during World War II. Betsy died in camp, but Corrie survived.
After the war, she brought a needed message about the love and forgiveness of God. She often said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
An old hymn by John Sammis reminds us to “Trust and obey for there is no other way.” Trusting God and one another is the only way we are going to work together for the future of our community.
First, we trust God, trust our abilities and trust each other. Working together we can build trust and a better way for all.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.